Vitor Abdala Reporter Agência Brasil
Rio de Janeiro – On Monday, March 14, the US ambassador in Brazil, Thomas Shannon, and the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, met to work out the details of the visit by the president of the United States, Barack Obama, to the city on Sunday, March 20.
Obama will make a speech in Cinelândia on Sunday afternoon with simultaneous translation into Portuguese. Cinelândia is in the center of the city, surrounded by important buildings, such as the National Library, the Municipal Theater and the Rio de Janeiro City Legislative Assembly (“Câmera dos Vereadores”). It is a kind of Brazilian Hyde Park – a traditional location for political demonstrations and speeches – and Times Square. The large plaza was originally in front of a convent (“Convento da Ajuda”) built around 1750. At the beginning of the 20th century an urban modernization movement took place in Rio. The convent was demolished (in 1911) and a wide avenue was built (now Rio Branco) along with a series of skyscrapers that all had movie theaters on the ground floor, hence the name, Cinelândia. Of course, most of the cinemas have closed, but the area remains a vibrant and busy area.
A visit by Obama to a hillside slum is still not confirmed by the embassy or Rio authorities (a lot of things are “still not confirmed” for security reasons). However, local sources in Brazil say he will go to the Cidade de Deus, in Jacarepaguá (“Zona Oeste”), where a film, “City of God” (“Cidade de Deus”), was made that was nominated for four Oscars in 2003. He will be welcomed by the band of a local public high school “Pedro Aleixo,” with a mix of Brazilian and international music (which is being billed as everything from samba to hip hop). [In his autobiography (“Dreams From My Father”), Obama mentions a 1959 film that his mother really liked (“Orfeu Negro”) that was filmed in another Rio slum and it was thought he wanted to go there. It is reported that trip was not approved for security reasons – the slum is in a hilly area, with very narrow streets. Cidade de Deus is on a kind of plateau with wider streets]
Security during the visit will be by US Secret Service and Brazilian Federal and State police.
Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English
Link - Prefeito do Rio e embaixador dos EUA acertam detalhes de visita de Barack Obama à cidade
